Black Mountain side
by Windtale

Comment:
Frame it and put this on a wall somewhere...beautiful capture that Ansel Adams would be proud of. Nicely done!

"Down by the Seaside"
by Falc

Comment:
Nice capture, and a masters touch at post-processing. Should be used for a tutorial on effective burning to lead the viewer. Congrats in advance! :-)

Measuring a summer's day, I only finds it slips away (from "Tangerine")
by chalice

Comment:
Great timing! I love how that wisp of cloud is in front of the sun. Nice balance to this with the natural top/btm framing.

Captivated
by Wallit

Comment:
Greetings from the Critique Club

First Impression

Intense. Curious. Considering a pounce. :-)

Looking Deeper

You definitely captured an expression with this photo. 'Captivated' as your title works quite well. I get the feeling that the cat is watching a toy or something being moved as a tease, and would be moving to go after it very soon.

The DOF is pretty good. I think another 1/2 stop of so would have really made the eye crisp...it's not OOF or anything, just a smidge softer than the area just in front of it (hair on bridge of nose). Hmmm...looking a little more it's hard to tell. It may be the reflection in the eye that makes it feel soft because the detail of the iris is faded some. Polarizer? Might have helped control the reflection some. Detail and clarity in the focal zone is great.

While this shot is in color, it feels like sepia. Looking at your notes I see you did a slight desat. Being an advanced challenge I would have tried to save the eye color.

Compositionally it's fine overall. The whiskers (lower right) help draw me into the image, taking me to the nose and then the eye. Kind of a natural L shaped line that brings the viewer to center. I think a bit more room to the left would give the cats' gaze some breathing room. Right now the subject is somewhat centered which makes it feel tight.

Did you know you had 720 pixels and 200kb of filesize to work with? You only used 640 and 150kb. This photo is nearly square cropped already. Taking the long side to 720 would have really let the viewer see the detail better and make the image stand out more.

Questions? Feel free to send me a PM. Thanks!

....evening walk
by dougi555

Comment:
I really like the silhouette and especially the shadows in this.

Sea Sick
by hotpasta

Comment:
I've looked at this a couple of times now, and just now noticed the person leaning over the railing. I wondered where are all the fishermen were. :-)

With or without the person at the railing this image works very well for the challenge IMO. The slight tilt adds to the curve and brings the viewer around and into the photo. The lined up fishing poles add rhythm. The railing shadows assist the leading lines, and the gull in motion adds a dynamic to this.

Nicely seen and captured! Good luck in the challenge.

Ordinary People
by terje

Comment:
I'm finding that curves and tilts work well together after viewing the entries in this challenge. The leading line and repeating patterns, combined with spot-on placement of the subject, all work well together to create a visual treat. Nicely done! Good luck in the challenge.

BTW - This is one of my top picks for the challenge (have 2 tied for top score).

Full Tilt Downhill Race
by acoppola

Comment:
One of my top picks for this challenge. Nice use of tilt to add some drama to this (I think). Hard to tell if this was composed at an angle or if the hill naturally runs this way. Either way it's a wonderful action photo! Good luck in the challenge.

Eye See It All Now - Self Portrait VI
by scooter88

Comment:
Greetings from the Critique Club

First Impression

Detail! Pulsating.

Looking Deeper

The detail of the eye is amazing. The patterns, the blue...I swear if you stare long enough you can see the pupil change in size. :-)

Quite honestly, once I get past the eye I'm very distracted by the blownout lighting under the eye. Even more amazed that this wasn't addressed by more voters (no disrespect intended).

In comparison to the original that was selected to redo/improve, etc...I like your version of it. Much improved for clarity and detail.

Sorry for not having much more to discuss here. I'm hard pressed to find much "deeper" to dive into.

Congrats on the Top 10 finish!

Questions? Please feel free to send me a PM. Thanks!

six redone
by nlghttrain

Comment:
Greetings from the Critique Club

First Impression

A bit blurry.

Looking Deeper

I think my first impression was based on the large red die up front. That's the one that grabs my attention first because of it's size and color. It's not in focus. After looking around a bit I've found the focal point on the second white 'six'. Really, because of the aperture choice, that's the only spot that's sharp. Technically that's fine (shallow DOF), but it's not where I expected it to be.

Did you consider moving the large red die to a point deeper in the composition? Arrange the smaller white ones around it some perhaps? Just a thought.

I like the choice of using a black background. Works well to isolate the dice.

Recently the trend has been toward square crops to gain the advantage of size, detail, and impact. This subject would have been perfect for that IMO. As it is, you only used 640 instead of the allowed 720?

In the end I guess the score was a reflection of subject material (hard to make static dice jump out) and the choice of focus point.

*** I just read the comments made during the challenge (prefer to make my own observations first without being influenced...) and it does seem that focus was the primary thing in holding this entry back.

Questions? Please feel free to send me a PM and let me know. Thanks!